Khabib Nurmagomedov Wishes Tony Ferguson Well, Tells Former Champ His Son Will be “Proud”

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson haven’t been on very good terms, to put it mildly, in more recent years. But, following Ferguson’s memorable and pivotal defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 this Saturday, Nurmagomedov is telling “El Cucuy” to keep his head up.

Nurmagomedov tells Ferguson his son will be “proud” of him

As you likely know, a fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson was cancelled last month, marking the fifth time that match-up has been punted. Khabib was forced out of the April 18th booking due to a coronavirus travel ban and then his observance of Ramadan.

Once again, Ferguson had some fiery words for Nurmagomedov, and the expectation as that if “El Cucuy” beat Gaethje, he’d be next for the lightweight champ. Ultimately, however, Gaethje spoiled those plans by stopping Ferguson this past Saturday.

Well, more recently, Nurmagomedov tweeted out these kind words to Ferguson.

Whatever happened is in the past. Heads up Tony, I hope everything is good with you and your family. When your son grow up, he’ll be proud with you.
@TonyFergusonXT

Reaction?

As this is being written, Ferguson has yet to respond to Khabib. It will be interesting to see what he says.

Whether you’re a fan of the champ or not, you have to admit it’s a pretty classy thing for Nurmagomedov to do. Khabib could have gone the other route and piled on the former interim champ. But he chose not too.

The loss was a crushing one for Ferguson, as he won’t get his long-deserved title shot after all, not anytime soon anyway. But, there’s no question he showed a ton of heart and toughness at UFC 249 and that he has nothing to be ashamed of.

Further, the loss to Gaethje was Ferguson’s first in 12 fights, and during that time “El Cucuy” bested many of the planet’s top lightweights.